Things we learned from the Real Salt Lake versus the San Jose Earthquakes match.

1. RSL has to do better on crosses and set pieces. That’s obvious right? RSL has conceded 39 goals this season and a majority are off of set pieces and crosses into the box. What can be done to correct that? Look at the first goal. Cordell Cato receives the ball in RSL’s territory with acres of space. He has time to pick his head up and find Lenhart running into the box. Watch the two RSL defenders in the picture Wingert and Stephenson. Wingert sticks with the San Jose winger running forward and Stephenson jogs over to Cato. Jogs? Stephenson needs to do everything in his power to deny that cross not just jog over he needs to sprint. I was watching the New York Red Bulls versus FC Dallas game and you see something similar. FC Dallas has the ball a few yards wide of the 18 yard box with space. What stood out to me was Kosuke Kimura. He sprinted to deny what should have been an easy cross into the box. I know this tactic won’t help on set pieces but it will help out your defenders when the opponent is bringing it down the wing. All it takes is extra effort.

2. Is RSL’s best target off of a corner kick Javier Morales? No, but maybe. Apparently nobody sees him as a threat so he’s left unmarked in the six yard box. His goal in the 19th minute was his second in three games off of a corner. We all remember his bicycle against Portland. Now he again finds himself unmarked and calmly puts the baby to bed. Without Saborio in the game RSL is not the biggest threat on set pieces and corners. Why not ride this wave a little longer and see if they can continue to find defenders sleeping on the Argentine?

3. Possession doesn’t mean anything it’s execution that counts. RSL had 70% possession against San Jose. Of that 70% they were able to get one goal and two other shots on target.That’s right only two. They also whipped in a whopping 34 crosses into the area that seemed to connect with either Clarence Goodson or Victor Bernardez noggin or missing everybody in the vicinity. Without Saborio in the game there shouldn’t be anywhere near that many crosses.

This was a tough loss for Real Salt Lake who got beat by a one dimensional team. Javier Morales summed it up best when he said, “We have to be better against teams that play like that. They only have one way to score.” San Jose’s strength is RSL’s weakness and they walked away with the three points and a step closer to a playoff spot. RSL’s dream of the supporters shield and first place in the Western Conference is diminishing after a second consecutive loss and a tie by Seattle in LA against the Galaxy.